Kinship Navigator

Position Summary

The Kinship Navigator identifies and engages kinship resources for youth in foster care. This role serves as the primary point of contact for kinship families, providing support, addressing needs, and assessing the impact of programming, systems, policies, and procedures related to kinship care. The Kinship Navigator works collaboratively with internal teams to promote timely, stable, and permanent kinship placements.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and implement needs assessments for potential kinship caregivers
• Partner with Intake Specialists to review and assess new referrals to the foster care program
• Host and lead NTDC and TRIPP trainings
• Attend initial family conferences for youth in foster care to identify potential kinship resources
• Integrate kinship resource identification, including father engagement, within the first 30 days of foster care placement
• Review case records and conduct interviews with the child/youth, case planner, and available family members to develop genograms that support the family-finding process
• Collaborate with program staff to ensure all youth in foster care are assessed for potential kinship placement
• Conduct diligent search efforts to identify appropriate kinship families and follow up with individuals who know the child, have expressed interest, or have had a positive relationship with the child
• Meet with family members and potential kinship resources to discuss the status and progress of permanent kinship placements
• Cookordinate and support pre-placement visits between youth and kinship resources
• Refer kinship caregivers to kinship services and community-based resources outside of the formal foster care system
• Provide ongoing support to youth and kinship families, including home visits, to promote placement stability
• Meet monthly with youth and case planners to review kinship placement progress
• Collaborate with the Homefinding Department to support the training and certification of kinship homes, as appropriate
• Maintain timely and accurate documentation in Connections
• Attend trainings related to kinship care, including classroom instruction, online modules, and webinars
• Submit monthly data reports related to intakes, kinship placements, and outreach activities

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required with a minimum of two years of post-graduate experience; MSW preferred
• Flexibility to work evenings and occasional weekends
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and build collaborative relationships
• Strong family support and customer service skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and general computer literacy
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Bilingual Spanish preferred